


My feelings taking flight

by NekoPantera



Category: Maleficent (Disney Movies)
Genre: F/M, Fluff and Angst, mention of injury
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-26
Updated: 2021-02-26
Packaged: 2021-03-17 12:22:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,225
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29717115
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NekoPantera/pseuds/NekoPantera
Summary: Emotions are such a fragile thing aren't they? Especially when you love someone. Both Diaval and Maleficent struggle as they find out how they feel about each.
Relationships: Diaval/Maleficent (Disney)
Comments: 1
Kudos: 27





	My feelings taking flight

**Author's Note:**

> Behold, my Valentine's entry for the Suger and Spice Valentijn evenement 2021. The event was held by myself and my best buddy Seth's Kiss. (Go check them out, seriously, do it!)
> 
> Our other lovely participants are;
> 
> Alastair, AsgardianHobbit98, Damnyousillygoose, GustavonkaLondon, HisagiKirigakure, Iceburg-sanCPX, Kakashi97, Kairomone, Kamil the Awesome, Karkatsbabe, Max333, Nazaki-Sama, NekoPantera, Phoenixreal, Potashiamu, RavenStyx, Sailor Silver Ladybug, Seth's Kiss, SerenaJones585, SesshomaruFreak, Spunky0ne and Yatsu Narurasuke
> 
> Go check out their lovely works as well.
> 
> Without further ado, enjoy 3

She was not amused.

When the war between humans and fey had ended, her daughter Aurora had married prince Philip. Fine. They had held a huge celebration for it, one that lasted several days. Fine. She had been expected to show her face every now and then during these celebrations. Less fine, but okay.

What was NOT okay was that currently she was expected to _mingle_ with everyone at a whole new party, celebrating the newfound peace between the two kingdoms. How many parties were needed to satisfy these human creatures? There had been plenty already, wasn't it enough?

"Don't worry, we'll hold the party inside the Moors, close to the border. That should reassure you a bit." Aurora had told her, when she had asked - no, practically demanded - that Maleficent would be there.

It was anything but reassuring. Every time humans came into the Moors, bad things happened. So instead of 'having fun' and 'making new friends' like everyone told her to do, she stood vigilant, watching over their _guests_.

Not even the presence of Diaval, who was the only one who had the ability to calm her nerves, was enough to release some of the tension she was feeling.

She watched her faithful friend as he seemed to fare much better than she was. Diaval was talking to a group of humans and Fey alike. He wasn't completely at ease, not that anyone but she could tell. He was quite good at masking his emotions around strangers, something he had learned from her.

Maleficent was deep in thought, remembering the time she had first met the raven, when she felt a presence beside her.

"You're clearly not enjoying yourself."

Maleficent turned towards Borra, the brown winged fey who had fought beside her in the war, with an instant reply on her lips. But he was faster and spoke before she had a chance. "Not that I blame you," Holding his hands up in surrender. "I find myself on guard as well. Not a few days ago, these _humans_ were our enemies. And I wouldn't be surprised if this alliance does not last long."

She shared his belief, but would never say it out loud. Because while she didn't believe in humans, she did believe in Aurora. "Perhaps. But for now there is peace, as fragile it may seem. If another conflict occurs, it won't be because of us." That last part was directly aimed at the other Fey.

"As long as the humans stay docile, I will too." He told her honestly.

Maleficent seemed content with his answer and turned back towards the party scene. "Although, I do agree with you that I'd rather be somewhere else right now. These _parties_ are beginning to get on my nerves."

Borra chuckled. "Well, it has been going on for a couple hours now. I'd say you've fulfilled your duty to attend."

"My duty is to protect the Moors, as long as our _guests_ are here, I will remain as well." And sensing he had something on his mind she asked. "Are you trying to give me an excuse to leave, or one for yourself?"

"Both actually. I was hoping we could leave together, I have wanted to talk to you for a while now and the opportunity has been scarce these days."

"Talk to me? What about?" She was genuinely confused.

"Nothing in particular. I just want to get to know you. It's not every day you meet the last descendant of the Phoenix."

Maleficent sensed that wasn't the only reason, but decided not to push. "I suppose."

Borra took the permission as it was and started a conversation with her, guiding her away from the party little by little. Maleficent knew what he was doing, but didn't try to stop it, as she was enjoying the conversation. It was an excellent opportunity to learn more about her species.

It wasn't long before Diaval noticed Maleficent leaving, as it was his self-imposed duty to watch over her. He excused himself, glad to have an justification to leave and power-walked as subtly as he could to catch up to his Mistress.

When he got close, he heard a sound he seldom heard; Maleficent's laugh.

He stopped in his tracks and observed the scene. She was talking with that Fey who had convinced her to go to war against the humans. He didn't know much about him, only what his Mistress had told him.

They were talking and seemed in a very good mood, evident from the happy expressions Maleficent was making. She seemed to be having a good time talking to Borra.

Diaval smiled, it was good to know that his Mistress was feeling happy. But then, then he frowned. Why was that other fey able to make her feel that way? He wasn't as close to her as Diaval was. And yet he could count the times Maleficent laughed, genuinely laughed around him on his human fingers.

True, she wasn't a fan of displaying her emotions on the surface. And Diaval was pretty good at sensing her mood, because he had been at her side for so long. So why was Borra able to make her laugh?

He grasped at his chest. What was this emotion he was feeling? It felt alien to Diaval. Perhaps he was getting too used to this human form. He should be happy that she was happy, so why did he feel anger towards the male fey, and why did his chest hurt?

He wanted to go over there and partake in their conversation, but he decided against it. No reason to interrupt and ruin the mood.

He took one last glance at his mistress's smiling face and left to find Aurora.

Diaval found Aurora and silently took his place behind her while she was talking to someone else. When she noticed, she turned around with her bright smile and greeted him. "Diaval! There you are." That's when she noticed his downcast expression and she instantly became worried. "What's wrong?"

He was surprised that the human queen could so easily see that something was wrong, but again, he didn't want to ruin the mood of the party. "Oh, it's nothing worth mentioning."

"Nonsense." said Aurora. She excused herself from the other guests and took Diaval by the arm to lead him to a more secluded place. "Tell me what's wrong."

Diaval sighed. Aurora was human, so maybe she could help him understand these emotions. He could trust her after all. He looked around, making sure no one was able to hear their conversation. "I have these… feelings, and I'm not sure what they mean."

Aurora nodded and gave him all her attention, she sensed this was a rather sensitive topic. "Explain them to me."

"Okay, well, uhm." He scratched his head as he tried to find the words to describe it. "I feel angry and sad at the same time. And my chest hurts." He said shyly.

"And who do you think of, when you feel these things?" She asked, but she already had a pretty good idea what was going on here. She wasn't blind.

"Is that important?" He asked, not wanting to talk about his mistress in such a bad way.

"Yes, of course. Now, tell me."

Another sigh. "Alright, when I saw Maleficent talking with Borra. She was laughing. Do you know what it means, that I feel like this?"

Aurora tried and failed to contain her giggle. She has hoped this would happen. "Yes, I do know what it means."

"Then tell me! I don't wanna feel this way. How do I fix it?"

"You can't really fix feelings, Diaval. But I can tell you what I think you're feeling. The pain in your chest is because you wished it was you who could make her laugh, and you're angry at Borra for the same reason. Does this make sense?"

Diaval was taken aback, was this really what it meant? He thought about it and it strangely did make sense.

"This is called jealousy, Diaval. You're jealous." Aurora explained.

"I'm jealous? Why?"

"Do you really not know why? What reason would you have to want to take Borra's place right now?"

"Because I'm Mistress's loyal servant, I'm her closest friend. She met Borra only days ago! He shouldn't be as close to her as he is. I care about how she feels, I care about her, and I lo…" Horrified at what he nearly revealed, he stopped talking. He didn't even know he felt this way until just now.

Aurora smiled gently. "Go on."

Diaval took a deep shaky breath and decided to just let it out. "I - I love her." He sat down, gasping and dazed at this new revelation.

Aurora followed him to the ground. Once Diaval regained control over his breathing she said; "You're jealous of Borra because you love Maleficent."

He nodded weakly, unable to deny it now. The girl hugged him before giving him a big smile. "You should tell her."

"WHAT! I couldn't possibly do that! It's not my place. Besides, she'd never feel the same for me. You know what she thinks about love." he said, trying to keep his voice down in fear of being heard.

"Then what are you going to do? Never tell her? These feelings won't just go away, Diaval."

"I will not risk what we already have. She doesn't give her trust to just anyone, I don't wanna lose that."

"I doubt you will lose her if you tell her how you feel."

"I'm not willing to take that chance." He said firmly while getting back up again.

Aurora wanted to argue, but knew it wasn't the right time. "I won't force you, but I hope you reconsider."

* * *

A couple days passed and life seemed to go back to normal. The humans returned to their kingdom and the Moors were at peace again.

The same could not be said about Diaval. Ever since understanding his feelings towards his mistress, he has been on edge, especially around her.

Without realizing it, he'd started displaying raven courting behaviour around her when he was in his original form.

He would show off his flying abilities during their daily flights. He would find her the ripest and juiciest berries to eat. He would nuzzle briefly her with his beak when he was allowed to sit on her staff or shoulder and even started building a nest out of the softest forest materials he could find.

It wasn't until that behaviour carried over in his human form one day that Maleficent confronted him about it.

"Diaval, enough!"

"Uhm, what did I do?" he asked, genuinely confused.

"Whatever it is you're doing, I do not require you to clean my wings for me. I can do that on my own."

Maleficent was known for not liking to be touched in any way. Physical contact only occurred with her if absolutely necessary. In the past she had allowed Diaval to touch her, but only as a passing touch without consequences.

So when he was caught preening her wings without realizing it himself, he withdrew his hands as if burned. "I apologize, Mistress. It wasn't my intention." He looked down in shame.

She turned towards him from where she sat in the elder tree. Her gaze stern, with hints of concern and confusion. "What has gotten into you lately?"

"I'm… not sure what you mean?"

"You know exactly what I mean, Diaval. You've been acting weird. You're bringing me gifts of food, when you know full well I do not require it, you've been showing off your flying skills to me during our flights and you seek out my touch. I demand to know why."

"I…" He wasn't sure how to proceed. He was afraid of making her angry. But her tone implied she wasn't going to leave this alone.

Should he really tell her? Aurora seemed to think it was a good idea, as she continued encouraging him to do it. But what if it made her hate him? Or worse, made her afraid? He couldn't bear to lose her.

Yet it seemed like he didn't have a choice anymore as Maleficent stared at him expectantly, she wasn't going to let it go.

Diaval swallowed. "I assure you, this happened completely on accident. I didn't want this to happen, I tried to stop it." he looked down again, nervously avoiding her gaze.

"Tell me what's wrong." she ordered again, a concerned tone barely noticeable hidden in her voice.

It was now or never, Diaval gathered his remaining courage, looked her straight in the eye and just went for it.

"I have fallen in love with you."

Maleficent fell silent, looking at him with a strange expression on her face. He couldn't identify what she was thinking, so he elaborated.

"Like I said, I never intended this to happen. I didn't even know what it was that I was feeling until Aurora explained it to me."

"Aurora knows?" Maleficent asked, she looked worried about that statement.

"Yes, she helped me figure out what I was feeling. I know how you feel about love, so I tried to get rid of these feelings, but I can't." He took a shuddering breath. "Without realizing it I have begun exhibiting raven courting behaviour towards you. I tried to stop, but like you just saw, I do it without even realizing it. I am so, so sorry to bother you with this. I would never expect you to return these feelings. I only ask to let me stay with you. Love or not, my place is by your side."

There, now it was all in the open, his heart laid bare before her. Diaval had never felt this vulnerable before. Never so scared. Regardless of his feelings, the last thing he wanted was to lose her. Even if she never returned his feelings, he was fine with that, so long as he could stay.

Maleficent was still silent. She was staring at Diaval, but had a distant look on her face. That worried him, but he waited patiently for her response.

"Diaval, I…" She looked away, seemingly at a loss for words.

"I will do anything for you. Just say the word. I'll find a way to get rid of these feelings. Just don't leave me alone. I can't bear to lose you."

"Because you love me." It wasn't a question.

"Y-Yes. I love you." He said, a small, tiny part of him hoping she could love him back.

Silence followed again.

Maleficent's head was spinning. Of all the things she thought he would say, this was not among them. He loved her? Since when? It does explain his strange behaviour. How could he love her? It doesn't make any sense. Love wasn't real. At least not for her.

She'd had her heart broken before. Would she risk it again? With Diaval? Yes, she trusted him with her life, and he was her closest friend who she knew she could confide in. People started relationships with less.

Her heart sped up. She felt scared and confused. This shouldn't be happening. But why, then, did she also feel excited? Like she had been waiting for something like this? NO! This was not a good thing. She finally had her thoughts figured out, she was finally at peace with herself. She did not need this.

Diaval noticed her body language change. He knew she was starting to freak out. That wasn't good. He calmly put his hands up in surrender and backed away a little to give her some space.

"Mistress. It's okay, we can figure this out together."

Her head snapped towards him, their eyes locked. That's when he saw his nightmare become real. Her eyes hardened, closing her emotions of from him. She stood up and turned away.

"Mistress, please. Please don't leave me."

She seemed to ignore him. Maleficent spread out her wings and hastingly flew away, leaving him behind without a word.

Diaval screamed, pleading for her to stay, to not leave him alone. But within seconds she was out of sight.

The human raven was horrified. She had left him. And he wasn't sure she would ever come back for him. He was so angry with himself. He had screwed everything up. These stupid feelings. They should never have excised, it wasn't his place. And now he had lost her. Possibly for forever.

His heart shattered.

Diaval felt lost and dazed, not sure what to do next. Should he find Aurora? No, she was in the human kingdom right now, it would take him several days to get to her in this human form. Then what should he do?

He found his way down out of the tree and started walking without purpose.

* * *

Meanwhile Maleficent was soaring through the clouds, trying to make sense of what had just happened. She felt bad for leaving Diaval behind, but she needed to clear her head. She wanted to fly back to Diaval, reassure him she wouldn't leave him forever, but she couldn't. She had learned from many past experiences that if she acted while so emotional, her decisions would lead to something bad. She wouldn't do that to Diaval. Diaval who had been at her side for years, who had been there for her through thick and thin. Who had risked his life for her several times and would never leave her side. He had been loyal to her from the first day they met.

And now, he loved her. She knew he wasn't lying, she saw it in his eyes. The conviction they held when he told her, was enough to convince her that his feeling were real.

She wondered briefly what she had done to deserve his loyalty, his friendship, his love.

Maleficent had already resigned herself to the fact that she would be alone, without a partner for the rest of her life, and she used to be okay with that. But now, that had changed.

Even though she was scared out of her mind of even thinking about it, she couldn't help but wonder; did she love him back? He WAS doing an excellent job of cleaning her wings.

A sudden shadow alerted her that she wasn't alone anymore. She looked to her side and saw Borra approaching her. He matched her speed and was now flying beside her.

He greeted her with a smile and a wave.

The two sized each other up in silence, until he broke the silence. "You seem troubled."

She huffed, raising her chin as she looked ahead again. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"You don't have to hide it, it's clear to see. Something happened."

"What's it to you?" she asked as she glanced at him out of the corner of her eye.

"I'm just concerned about you, nothing more. Do you want to talk about it?"

Repressing her initial dismissal, she considered his question. She had learned that bottling up her emotions wasn't good. But was she willing to talk about it with Borra? It wasn't his business. And even if it was, she didn't know what to feel right now, so it wasn't like she could really explain what was going on right now.

Seeing how she hadn't answered him yet, Borra tried a different approach.

"Follow me." he said and flew off.

Baffled but curious, Maleficent followed him.

They flew over the sea, arriving quickly at the Nest of Origin.

Borra didn't stop there and guided her deep into the Nest before arriving at a small secluded section.

It was a small space built out of wood, twigs and leaves.

Without needing to be told, Maleficent knew this was Borra's own nest. His smell was all over the place, he had probably built it himself.

"Why did you bring me here?"

"I've been thinking a lot the last couple of days." he said, ignoring her question.

"About?"

"Lots of things, but most involve you."

She tilted her head in curiosity.

He smiled at that warmly.

"Before I met you, all I could think of was violence and war against the humans. It filled my thoughts every day and every hour. You met me at my worst, yet you fought beside me. Then when the war was done, and I was able to let go these feelings of hate. I've never felt this much at peace before with myself. And it's all thanks to you."

"Are you trying to thank me? There's no need, you've done that already."

"I am thanking you, but that's not my point." he said with a small sigh.

"Then what is?"

He turned towards her. "You saw me at my worst, but I want you to get to know me at my best. I think you'll agree that we go together pretty well, both on the battlefield and off. I've brought you to my nest because I want to share it with you. I want to hold you close and allow me to bring out the best in you, like you did for me. I have deep feelings for you, Maleficent, I want you by my side."

Her head snapped in his direction. This is not what she needed right now. First Diaval, and now Borra? What was going on?

He took a step closer to her, and she immediately stepped back as well, as if burned by iron.

Unlike when Diaval confessed to her, her head was clear. She knew that this is not what she wanted, she did not want a relationship with Borra. She respected him and even considered him a friend, a brother, but nothing more.

Her reaction and face seemed to tell him everything he needed. "You don't feel the same."

"No, I don't."

Borra nodded. "I thought so, but I had to try anyway. You're in love with that raven, Diaval, aren't you?"

"I…" Was it true after all? Did she love him?

"Where is he anyway? He is usually is never far away from you."

That was a good question, she knew where she left him. But would he still be waiting there? He had sounded so hurt when she left. Would he be angry? Feel betrayed?

Her chest hurt imagining him suffering because of her actions. How could she have been so blind? She had rejected the truth, afraid she would be hurt again. But Diaval would never, ever do that. He wasn't Stephan.

"I know it must be hard, finding out how you feel about another. Especially after what you've been through before. But I can tell you care about him as much he cares for you. You love him." Borra smiled knowingly after she fell silent, deep in thought.

Unable to form words in the moment, she just nodded. There was no point in denying it anymore.

She wrapped her arms around her, feeling vulnerable. "What should I do?" she asked in a soft voice.

Borra smiled softly. "You should find him. And tell him you feel the same."

"It's that easy?"

"Just do what I did just now, but in your own words. Let your heart talk for you."

She nodded again, her resolve strengthening and now feeling sure about what she had to do. But, wait a minute. "I never told you about what happened before. How did you know?"

He laughed nervously. "Well, you're certainly a sharp one, aren't you? Let's just say a little birdie told me."

Maleficent didn't need to guess who he was talking about. And she made another deduction. "You don't really love me, do you?"

"No." he admitted after a short pause.

"Then why would you tell me that?!" she demanded, not amused.

"To help you figure out your feelings. When I told you my feelings, you knew instantly you didn't feel the same, but when it was about Diaval, you couldn't give me an answer. Doesn't that tell you enough?"

"You shouldn't play with people's emotions like that." She was pissed off, and rightly so.

At least he had the decency to look sorry. "It wasn't my idea."

"Whose was it, then?"

"Oh, for heaven's sake! Stop delaying and just go to him!" A voice suddenly sounded from behind some wood.

Maleficent knew the voice. "Aurora? What are you doing here?"

"Who do you think put Borra up for this?" Aurora asked as she revealed herself.

"You're behind this?"

"Ever since Diaval told me, I've watched him struggling, so I thought I'd help him out a bit. I knew you'd feel the same. I know you both. So go get your man and confess to him, I doubt he'd do it himself." Aurora said, not knowing that's what actually just happened.

Maleficent would have felt betrayed if she wasn't convinced Aurora meant no harm. She knew her daughter only had the best intentions in mind when orchestrating this, even though it was completely inappropriate.

About to voice her complaints, Aurora interrupted her. "No, stop wasting time and go to Diaval!"

"Aurora…"

"No, go, shoo. You've kept him waiting long enough." she said with a big grin.

Deciding to let it go, for now, Maleficent nodded, turned around and left to find her raven.

* * *

Ever since Maleficent had left Diaval, he'd been wandering around in a daze. Numb to everything.

He wondered what he was supposed to do now. Before he had met her, he was just a raven going on with his life with his own business. Then she entered his life and everything changed.

She became the most important thing in his world. So now that she was gone, what was left for him?

A sudden rumble followed by a loud _**CRASH**_ shook Diaval out of his thoughts.

A lightning bolt hit the ground with a deafening sound, not too far from his location. It was also pouring rain, he was drenched. _How_ had he not noticed before?

He suddenly found himself in a raging storm. He quickly came to his senses and looked around for shelter, but when he did, he realized he had no idea where he was.

This wasn't somewhere he knew. The rain limited his vision, and the only thing that he saw was the raging river not too far from him. The river overflowed angrily at the surrounding land.

Best not get too close to that.

Even the trees here were sparse, so they wouldn't help him find shelter from the rain.

Another loud _**CRASH**_ as another lightning bolt hits the ground. The storm was right on top of him.

He shivered and put his arms around him. This stupid human form got colder fast it seemed. He was wearing nothing but some thin clothes, and they were drenched.

He knew that calling out would be futile, since every other creature would have been smarter than him and already have found shelter from this danger.

The wind was howling loudly, so it was not like anyone could hear him anyway.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, a loose branch slammed into him, knocking him to the ground.

Once again, he felt dazed. But this time it had another cause. His head felt strangely warm and when he put his hand on his head, it came back red.

That probably wasn't good.

He got up and started walking in a random direction, staying here would probably kill him.

But because his vision was blurred and dark spots started to impair his vision, he didn't notice he was walking straight towards the river. Until it was too late.

A huge wave dragged him in and suddenly he found himself getting tossed around violently in the water.

He did his best to keep his head above water, but it was very difficult. The water was continuingly dragging him under. And he was getting tired.

Still, he wouldn't give up that easily. He had too much self-respect to give up just like that.

It felt like an eternity that he was being dragged and tossed by the river. His vision started to fade away, still he fought it.

But eventually, his human body could take no more. He blacked out and he wasn't sure he would wake up again.

At least he didn't hurt anymore.

* * *

Maleficent was flying around, searching for her raven, but he was nowhere to be found. She had asked around to see if someone saw him.

After a while she got the general direction Diaval had gone. She was worried, one of the fairies said that she'd greeted him, but he had ignored her like she wasn't even there.

That didn't sound like Diaval at all. Something was very wrong, and she blamed herself.

It got even worse. A huge storm started and quickly became out of control. Where had this come from?

She wouldn't be able to fly through this. She had no choice but to wait until it was over. She could only hope he had found shelter and was okay.

The storm went as quickly as it came. It didn't last more than 2 hours. Maleficent immediately resumed her search.

She looked upon the devastation the storm had brought the land and she prayed Diaval wasn't caught in it after all.

It took way longer than she would have wanted, but she finally spotted the black form of her Diaval. He was lying on the banks of the river.

He wasn't moving.

She flew as quickly as she could to his side. Calling, no yelling out his name.

No response.

She reached him and was horrified at his state.

Clothes torn and ripped, a nasty head wound, lips blue, cold to the touch and worst of all, not breathing.

"No!"

She cupped his face, looking for a sign, any sign of life.

No, no, no, not like this. Not when she finally admitted to herself how she felt about him. She couldn't lose a loved one again.

She didn't even notice she was crying. She rested her head on his chest.

There! His heart was still beating! He was still alive!

Not losing a second, she used her magic to get the water out of his lungs, heal his wounds and warm his body up. Hoping it would be enough.

It wasn't. Even though her magic warmed him up, he was still cold to the touch. She listened again to his heartbeat, it was getting slower.

What could she do? There had to be a way. If her magic wasn't enough, then what was?

He needed to breathe!

Suddenly she had an idea, if he couldn't breathe, then she would do it for him.

She drew in a large breath and placed her mouth over his and blew the air in his lungs.

She did that again, and again, and again.

Until suddenly…

Diaval breathed in a huge intake of air, before the breath dissolved into a fit of coughs.

"Diaval!" She was so relieved, seeing him moving and breathing again. She didn't even hesitate as she pulled him close and almost hugged the life back out of him.

Diaval had to take a few seconds to figure out what was going on.

Unlike how he felt before he passed out, cold, hurt and alone, now he was feeling fine, warm and being hugged?

He couldn't believe his eyes. His mistress was hugging him? What? Was she enchanted by something?

She was crying too. What had happened?

He awkwardly put one hand on her back, carefully so he wouldn't scare her away. "M-Maleficent?"

Upon hearing her name, she pulled back just enough to look him in the eye, not yet willing to let go.

After she made sure he was okay, only then she withdrew from the hug, but still kept close to him. She stopped crying and her face became angry.

"What were you thinking?! Why would you be so careless?!" she practically yelled.

Diaval had seen her angry before, but never did she raise her voice when she was.

To his surprise, her anger dissolved quickly and transformed into relief. "Don't ever do that again."

He figured she was talking about him getting lost in the storm and getting hurt. He felt his head and noticed his wound was healed.

"I'm sorry, I wasn't really thinking. I didn't notice the storm until it was too late."

"You could have died, if I had not found you. You weren't breathing, Diaval!"

She was doing a good job of hiding it, but Diaval saw how scared she was. He felt both touched at her concern for him and confused. Why would she have been looking for him?

Could it be?

He had to be sure. "Not that I'm ungrateful, but why are you here? I figured you'd wanna be as far away from me as possible." he said, sad emotions creeping back into him, looking down.

"I…" She was going to tell him why, and exactly how she felt. But why was it so hard?

"I regret leaving you. Earlier." she began awkwardly. "My head was a mess, I couldn't handle the situation. I had to leave to clear my head. I'm sorry."

Had Maleficent just apologized to him? That never happened before. He kept quiet, not wanting to ruin this honest moment from her and nodded at her. "It's alright, Mistress."

"No, it's not Diaval. You didn't deserve that, and look where it got you. I almost lost you. I don't think I could have endured that."

"What are you saying?"

It was now or never. Now she knew how much courage it took to do this, she gained a new respect for her raven.

"I want to return your feelings, Diaval."

Was she really saying what he thinks she's saying? Had he died and gone to heaven?

"I can't promise you a normal relationship. What happened in the past will always haunt me. But I'm willing to try."

Yep, he dead. He had dreamed of this moment and never thought it could be real. And yet it was happening.

He realized she was waiting for an answer.

"That's alright. I would be content to just be by your side. If you want, nothing has to change. Well, the only change would be that we loved each other." He noticed her flinch at the L-word. "Is that okay?" he added.

She looked at him. "Yes, that would be okay."

"We don't have to do anything you don't want to. But I have to admit…"

"Yes?" She asked when he trailed off.

"That hug was rather nice."

He knew he was testing her boundaries, but would it hurt to try?

"I suppose a hug every now and then would be fine." His heart soared. "But only if we're alone!" she added after seeing his enthusiastic reaction.

"We are alone right now, and I am feeling a bit cold still." He smiled cheekily.

Maleficent sighed, but it was a happy one and she opened her arms. He didn't hesitate and the two embraced for a long time before heading back home, together.

* * *

"I love you."

"Do you really have to say that so many times?"

"Yes, I will tell you every day."

Maleficent smiled fondly at her raven. They were both relaxing in their nest they had build together not long after they admitted their feelings to each other.

"You're lucky I like you, other people wouldn't get away with saying such bold things."

"I know." He replied cheekily.

Maleficent was still against being touched by anyone, but when the two were alone, she allowed Diaval hugs and snuggles if she was in a good mood. And Diaval never turned it down.

"We should get up." she said.

"Do we have to?"

"Yes, come on."

She pulled him off of her and stood up, Diaval followed quickly.

Maleficent went on her rounds and Diaval walked to a place where he could watch her from the ground.

"So, when's the wedding?" Aurora asked after she had walked up to Diaval who was watching maleficent doing her routine check ups on the forest from the air.

"Wedding? What wedding?" he asked, genuinely confused.

Aurora giggled. "Yours and Maleficent's of course!"

He flinched and shushed her. "Shhh, quiet. Do you want the whole Moors to know we're together now? You know how she feels about keeping things like that under wraps. And besides we're not getting married."

"What?! Why not?"

"Why should we? We don't need a wedding to prove our love to each other. Besides, weddings are a human tradition."

"I suppose. But don't you think it would be nice? We could keep it small."

He smiled. "I appreciate the thought, I really do, but I'm gonna have to decline. We're content the way we are. Maybe that could change in the future, but don't hope for it."

"Alright. As long as you're both happy, I'm happy." They both smiled. "So tell me," she started and leaned in close to him. "have you kissed her yet?"

"Aurora!"

"What? It's a simple question."

He was blushing like a complete fool. "That's none of your business."

She tried to read him, but surprisingly she couldn't see the answer. "You can trust me."

"I trust you, but that is private information."

She tried to get the answer, but he wouldn't relent and the question remained unanswered.


End file.
